Robots, Frankenstein and being supernatural | Being Human showcase

Full programme

1.30pm Lunchtime lecture from Lyndsey Stonebridge on 'Why burn books?' (UEA)

2pm Meet the festival team and visit pop-up stalls from: 'Frankenstein Begins', 'Defining Digital Dickens', 'Cyberselves', 'The Quantified Romantics'

3pm Pop up performance (30 mins) - 'Graveyard Voices' (South Wales)

4pm Pop up performance (30 mins) – 'Windsongs of the Blessed Bay' (Swansea)

5pm Talk in Macmillan Hall (20 mins) – 'Being Supernatural' by Professor Sarah Peverley (Liverpool)

5.30pm Refreshments and wine reception

6pm Being Human 2016 welcome speeches

6.30 Lucie Skeaping and Angela McShane with 'Intoxicants', pie and beer!

7.30 - Close

The jam-packed Being Human festival showcase runs from 1.30pm to 7.30pm on Monday June 27 at Senate House – celebrating research, public engagement and the humanities with highlights from some of the 300 events organised across the UK last year.

We’re excited to be beginning in Chancellor’s Hall with a lunchtime lecture by Professor Lyndsey Stonebridge entitled 'Why burn books?', originally part of the 'Writing human rights' series of events at the University of East Anglia. The afternoon will continue with a number of interactive exhibitions in the Macmillan Hall, showcasing robots, Dickens, Frankenstein and Gothic paintings.

Delve into Dickens’ The Mystery of Edwin Drood  with the University of Buckingham’s 'Defining Digital Dickens', combining transcription, interaction and collaboration. Discover cyber-worlds and robotics in 'Cyberselves' with a hands-on demonstration by Dr Michael Szollosy from Sheffield Robotics and meet the creatives from the University of Dundee to find out about how their illustrated comic 'Frankenstein Begins' explores Mary Shelley’s formative experiences in the city. You can also test how much Romantic novels really set pulses racing with Aberystwyth University’s 'The Quantified Romantics', which brings together Gothic paintings and bio-metric smart technology.

We also have two pop-up performances during the afternoon – 'Graveyard Voices', a project at the University of South Wales that explores the lives of people buried in Cathays Cemetery in Cardiff, and 'Windsongs of the Blessed Bay' from the University of Swansea, a mythic play focusing on the story of a young, blind Welsh woman, her family and community.

If you're interested in organising an event for Being Human, you’ll also have the chance to speak to two experienced members of the Being Human team – Michael Eades and Jo Chard – about running, marketing and planning public engagement events.

The evening event will start from 5pm with a talk from Professor Sarah Peverley from the University of Liverpool about Being Human in the Middle Ages, followed by and a wine reception and some words from our new Festival Director, Professor Sarah Churchwell. The showcase will finish in style with 'Intoxicants' – where BBC Radio 3’s Lucie Skeaping and Dr Angela McShane from the V&A will explore drinking, history and song from the 16th to 19th centuries. Grab a pie and a pint and come and join us for a sing-song!